Star Wars: 10 Things You Didn't Know About The Sith

On top of a fondness for black clothing and hoods, the Sith are also known for using a red lightsaber when clashing with Jedi and any other unfortunate soul who stands in their way.

But did you know exactly how a Sith gives their trusty laser sword that distinctly evil look?

It's well-known that a kyber crystal powers the weapon of the Jedi and Sith in Star Wars. However, while the Jedi simply place their chosen crystal within the rather useful tool and watch a much more positive colour burst out, the Sith have to do something pretty, well, disturbing.

With it not being possible to create the colour red naturally during the lightsaber creation process, Sith must pump dark side energy, rage, fear, and all that horrible stuff into their chosen kyber crystal to achieve the desired result - an act known as "bleeding."

This wasn't always a straightforward process either, with Ben Solo's attempts to bleed his kyber crystal leading to it ultimately being cracked. And that's what forced the eventual Kylo Ren to go for a cross-guard lightsaber, diverting the extra heat created by the crystal out the sides of his weapon's handle via vents.